Report: Growing Interest in Intranet Procurement

Intranet and extranet procurement automation is a hot
topic among Fortune 2000 companies, according to an Aberdeen Group market report published today.

Procurement automation applications are designed to improve purchasing practices for direct resources material used in manufacturing, and for indirect resources that cover products and services supporting Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO). This is one of the biggest areas of expense that is currently ineffectively automated at most corporations, according to the report.

Spurred by the interest of Fortune 2000 companies, a group of independent
software vendors (ISVs) has emerged, and the report details 18 companies with
correlating products. Of those, 15 are ISVs that concentrate on developing procurement automation. They include: Aspect Development,
Ariba Technologies, Commerce One, Connect, DynamicWeb, Elekom, Elcom,
Harbinger, Netscape Communications, Requisite Technology, TRADE’ex, and
7Software.

“The Return-on-Investment analysis for Intranet and Extranet Procurement applications is very compelling,” said David Alschuler, Managing Director of Aberdeen’s Electronic Commerce research practice. “These applications extend corporate control over renegade purchasing, enable comparative buying practices, support more effective supplier management, and reduce inventory
requirements.”